Interviews

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Interview : Dreams Of Norway

I've already done a post recently about Dreams of Norway jewelry but I absolutely could not resist doing a Q&A with Iselin, co-designer of the line. The brand is so unique in the way each jewelry is designed. They use materials such as silver, stone, swarovski crystals, feathers, wood, horn, and leather. Every piece is hand made, so no two jewelry are alike. Dreams of Norway balance their design between the rough and the fine, the masculine and the feminine, the soft and hard, inspired by the contrast filled and varied Norwegian nature.Check out the Q&A with GOLDREBEL.

GR: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you live.

I: My name is Iselin. I live in Oslo, Norway, where I divide my time between working on my jewelry label "Dreams of Norway", and studying clothing design at ESMOD fashion school- soon to start on my graduate year. Until 2-3 years ago, I lived in Trondheim, where my companion in Dreams of Norway, Nina Einarsen still lives.

GR: How did you and co-designer, Nina Einarsen meet?

I: We worked together in the same fashion boutique in Trondheim, where we became very good friends. I remember I saw a couple of earrings in this boutique that I really wanted to buy, but they were way too expencive, so I tried to copy them myself. - And I was hooked on making jewelry! I made jewelry a long time as a hobby, for myself, and as gifts for friends and family. I also taught Nina how to make jewelry. It was first when we a couple of years later, founded the company Dreams of Norway and co-designed our first collection, that we really started taking it serious, and took the designing- and the dreams for what we could accomplish- to a new level! Also, I think we inspire each other a great deal. We are two very different individuals, in many ways the opposites, but at the same time we have so much in common. This way we have a very dynamic design-process, where we go back an forth until we reach the best of both of our worlds. It works very well!

GR: Who are some of your favorite designers?

I: Oh that changes from season to season really. The one that probably inspires me most, almost each season, is Roberto Cavalli. Although I like a lot of other jewelry designers, clothing design inspires me the most, probably becouse I always design the jewelry lines with the idea of what kind of clothes they can be worn with.

GR: Fav. band(s) at the moment.

I: Right this minute, not a band but an artist- swedish Lykke Li.

GR: What can we expect of the next collection from Dreams of Norway?

I: You can expect a darker side of us! We will continue the use of crystals, pyrite and agate, leather, feathers and silver, but in darker tones, more mysterious...

GR: What are some tips or advice to give for someone who wants to start their own line.

I: Be prepared to work long hours, and be prepared for the fact that you won’t feel inspired at all times. So when you do, the best thing, I find, is to get all you possibly can out of that creative feeling for as long as it lasts! Make notes, produce, sketch. Also, you need to love your customers, and make sure your product is of the best quality possible- and be humble.